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Be it known that I, J Anna L. Kaar'r, a citizen of the United States, residing in the county of Cook, at Chica 0, Illinois, have invented a certain new an 'Im roved Process for Treating Cheese, of w ich the fol- This invention relates to an improved process for treating cheese, and refers more specifically to a process for remaking cheese consisti wholly or chiefly of the Cheddar genus. y the term Cheddar genus I mean to include all cheeses, however named, made by a Cheddar process.

The chief objects of the invention are; to provide a process whereby cheese in weights which for any reason are not readily salable 'may be remade into' salable cheese insuch' weights as are at the time in great demand; to rovide a process by which cheese of sizes which are convenient and suitable for economical making, curing and storing, but not readily marketable, may be. rapidly, economically and efliciently remade into cheese of sizes which will be most readily: salable; to provide a process whereby lac of uniformity in composition, flavor, moisture, conditions of age, etc., is eliminated and a blended product produced which ma readily be made to conform to the desire standards, etc.; and to provide a process for converting ordinary commercial cheese into cheese 5 adapted to withstand comparative y hig temperatures for extended periods without becoming spoiled.

-The invention does not apply to the socalled soft cream varieties, i. a. un-

cured ch of the cottage or cream cheese ustice-in tories, or coming t is at present the common practice to ut up cheeses of the Cheddar genus in the orm of whole milk cheese, full cream cheese ial or partly skimmed cheese, skimm ease and other varieties as regards the imrtant butter-fat and casein constituents; Cheddar al't' degrees of etc. u 1 ice, curing, an swell known that o the same designated variety commg from difierent facfrom the same factory under 'difierent conditions, vary considerably and sometimesyary to a seriously detrimentalextent. Thisstateoftheart eadsto t confusion and often leads to great inthe matter of fixing the proper Specification of Letter! l'atent.

Application fled latch 14, 1018. 'lerlal Io. $88,645.

Patented Dec. 2, 1919.

price for theproduct, and in the matter of the purchaser knowing just what he is buy- 1 a fihe desirability of uniformin and more or less standardizing cheese is o vious, but heretofore these conditions have not been attainable because it has not been known how such cheeses could be blended and made uniform without either destroying or tly iigpairing the quality of the blend produ My process is also of great value in our relating the considerations, conditions or requirements respectively involved in the manufacturing of cheese and the marketing of "the same. In manufacturin cheese the greatest economy is setured w en the prouct is put up in comparatively large sizes, for instance weights of from sixt to one hundred pounds are usually consi cred desirable from a manufacturing standpoint. It is found, also, that cheese in the larger sizes cures to better advantage and is better ada ted for storage than cheese put up in smal er units of say from ten to thirty1 pounds in weight. On the other hand, w en marketing the cheese the larger sizes meet with very much less favor in the trade than the smaller cakes, the most popular sizes from a selling standpoint being five to twenty lpound cakes. By reason of the su ply of suc small sizes being less than the emand, due to difliculty and expense in manufacture, a considerably higher rice per pound may be secured for the em or sized product.

Another problem in merchandising cheese is due to. the fact that the curing 0 cheese usually uires from one to four months time, and t erefore it cannot be made up on short notice in the desired sizes to correct possible shortages in such sizes due to heavy uying of a particular size though at the same time the market may be overstocked with cheese of other weights.

Hence, the desirability of being able to convert cheese of sizes not in demand into sizes of which there is a temporary shortage will be apparent.

I have discovered a process whereby the desired objects may be accomplished in a thoroughly practical and desirable way, at an extremely low cost, and in a very simple any desired standardized richness. As illusti .atedstrings without'breaking.

tra' theversatili ofm rocess,itmay beid dt ltioned thatl c an prolidhe fromchewe readily obtainable on the market ordinarily ch of the styles or types that ve heretofore been largely unported from Holland, namely Edam cheese, Gouda cheese, and similar types. By my process such special tyJRB of cheese can be pre and made rea y for the market in the matter of a few days, whereas it is well .lmown' that the methods heretofore practised in putting up such 3 ial types, require from one to four mont time to prepare the ob.

In ractisinfiemy improved treatment or process a num r of Cheddar ch of dif erent hatches which may var-E as to stgie size, she and richness, are rst denu ed of their andages or outer coverings, then cut into stri s or pieces, and commmuted in an suitab e or ordina machine or de vice or so doing. An 0 inary Enterprise grinder is a suitable machine or this urose. r otherwise comminuted are, of course, so selected as to produce the blended and uniformed product desired. Suitable portions, or the whole, of the selected and comminuted cheeses are placed in a mix' and blending vessel, which-should have ouble walls, and the inner vessel must be provided with a suitable stirring device, consisting, sreferably of a set of rotatable powerriven paddles and cooperating setrgf stationary addles or breakers. T e inner vessel shou d be nipped with a cover to serve the purpose 0 retaining the heat within the vessel and, as well also, to minimize the evaporation of the moisture contained in the cheese. v

A suitable charge of the ground cheese having been laced in the mixing vessel, heat is appli to the latter in such manner and amount as to raise the temperature of the cheese gradually to what I term a ici'itical temperature and condition, hereafter described. Meantim? while the heat isbeing cheese i ig9rously' applied the mass 0 a or stirred, such stirring being do sir-ably continued throughout the entire rocess'of heat treatment and continued during the latter of the treatment. a

As the temperature of the mass of cheese rises and approaches the critical condition,

the cheese becomes of atafiy-like consistency which is, perhaps, better described as bei between the consistency of dough and ru ber. Thgfltelgserature of the cheese, when it has the desired will somewhat with difierent. and varieties of cheese,-and may be an when from 125 F. to 150 F., but critical condition has arrived when the cheese may be drawn out into 105g attenuor a full The cheeses so chosen and groun up from the vessel and t cream temperature, to practice, will usually be shghtl ow "it "1, F.; somewhat higher temps urebemg required for a skim cheese or one contaming less butter-fat.

I term this condition critical because if the temperature be raised and the treatment continued after the cheese has attained the desired consistency, it becomes short, is changed from its true cheese character, and eventually takes on a creamy consistencywhich results in a brea of the origina texture of the Cheddar sty e of cheese. the other hand, if the treatment with heat and agitation be less than that required to bring the cheese to the critical condition, thevfilroduct will be a failure both because it not be fully blended and homogeneous throughout. The discovery that there exists such a critical condition of the treatment and how to attain and determine that condition constitutes an important and characteristic part of my invention.

I have found that when the cheese has been brought to this critical condition as heretofore set forth, it is in the proper condition for the necessary subsequent treatment, i. e. molding and pressin as it will then unite rfectl and there y form a solid mass 0 true c eese.

As soon as the cheese has reached the proper physical condition above described, the treatment is arrested, and, in order that the cheese may be promptly withdrawn 7 e action of the heat, it is desirable that the mixin vessel be pro vided with a comparatively fiarge outlet in its lower art so that when this outlet is opened and experience'is required in securing the best, results no great difliculty will be met in successfully practising the process as above described.

Frequently in order to produce a cheese of the desired texture and moisture content, it may be advisable to add a considerable percen of water during the treatment, preferab y at or near the commencement of the rocess, Incidentally.

am I

' easier to p the process somewhat in the ractice, and greater uniformity groduct is In other cases, it'ina be desired to produce a cheese which w' withstand the wetting and other undesirable eflects of hot weather or high temperaturebetter than ordmary commercial cheese as it leaves the factory. is articular-1y true where the cheese is intend to bash! into com- Yaratively warm such a case have found it possib e to secure the desirable result by add to the mass during the treatment a small percen of an sch.-

ble 0' for instance h J cocoanut oil, which a 7 b5 higher melting the addition of a I percentage of water has the efi'ect of point than the melt-mg point of butter-fat, resulting in the production of a cheese having considerably greater capacity to resist high tem ierature than the original cheese.

After t K! mass of treated chewe has been removed from the receptacle it may be subdivided into portions of the proper size, which are then placed into molds or socalled cheese hoops. These hoops are placed in a suitable press and subjected to considerable ressure until the cheese becomes thorougily cold. It will be understood, however, that from the time the cheese goes into the molds the subsequent steps correspond to the usual ones involved in the melding of ordinary Cheddar cheese.

Under my usual practice about two days represents the time consumed in the entire process, commencing with raw or commcrcial cheeses and finishing at the time when the cheese has been converted into its new form as a salable article. No curing is required.

The process properly carried out secures the important desired results hereinbefore set forth.

While, for purposes of illustration, only Cheddar cheese has been referred to, the application of the process to an admixture of a predominating quantity of Cheddar cheese with a minor proportion of another variety would not be regarded as a departure from the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. The im rovement in the art of re-making cheese 0 iie'fly or wholly of the Cheddar genus which consists in comminuting' the original cheese, raising its temperature while actively stirring the comminuted material, arresting the application of heat when the mass becomes of a plastic, uniformly blended consistency, but still retains its cheese texture, and subsequently reforming the mass into suitable shapes of the desired size;

2. The im rovement in the art of re-making cheese 0 the Cheddar genus which consists in comminuting the original cheese, raisin its temperature while actively stirrin t e eomminuted material, arresting the a p ieation of heat before] the temperature 0 the cheese exceeds 140 F. to 150 F., depending'upon the butter-fat content, but not until the mass becomes of a plastic, uniformly blended consistency, and subsequently reforming the mass into suitable shapes of the desired size.

3. 1n the. art of mixing cheese of the Cheddar genus to secure uniformity of the same in its constituent parts, preparatory lo putting it up for marketing, the improved process which consisls in introducmg into a mixing receptacle, portions of cheese from sundry batches nonuniform in character, gradually hcatin and at the same time actively stirring t no mass, examining and determining the condition of said mass as it approaches a critical condition, and promptly arresting said treatment at a time when the mass has attained a uniformly blended plastic, tally-like condition.

4. In the art of mixing cheese of the Cheddar nus to secure uniformity of the same in its constituent parts, preparatory to putting it up for marketing, the improved process which consists in introducing into a mixing receptacle comminuted portions of cheese from sundry batches nonuniform in character, gradually and with approximate uniformity, raising the temperature of the mass to a point at which it becomes plastic and blended, actively stirring and mixing the mass durin such heating treatment, examining and determining the condition of said mass as it approaches said point, and promptly arresting said treatment at a time when the mass has attained a uniformly blended, cohesive, plas tic condition, capable of being drawn into strin while hot.

5. n the art of mixing cheese to secure uniformity of the same in its constituent parts, the improved process which consists in introducing into a mixing rece tacle, quantities of cheese from sundry batc es of the same variety, but non-uniform in character, gradually heatin and actively stirring the mass until it has attained a temperature between 125 F. and 145 F., and when it'has reached a plastic, uniformly blended condition, arrestlng the treatment, and subsequently reforming the treated masize.

JAMES L. KRAFT. 

